Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Crystiles peel and stick wall tiles--our kitchen backsplash makeover

Good morning!
Today, I thought I'd share with you all our new kitchen back splash. I had originally intended to use actual tiles but, just to be completely honest, I was looking for a simpler (ok, EASIER) alternative because I knew that I'd be waiting until heaven knows when if I kept waiting for my husband to agree to such a time consuming and back breaking project. I try to be fair to him and to remember that he works 6 days per week and just like everyone else, he likes to have some down time when he's off. I understand that and I respect that. SOOOO....a couple weeks ago I came across the concept of peel and stick dimensional "faux tiles" and I was quite intrigued.  I pretty much watched every video I could find on YouTube and for the most part, people loved them and they looked really good.
I finally coaxed the hubs on board and off we went to Lowe's in search of the tiles or something similar. Unfortunately, we didn't have much luck with Lowe's. They did have some similar tiles but not in any of the colors I was looking for. However, being there and seeing the tiles themselves in person and holding them and touching them and comparing the way they looked to the actual glass tiles was enlightening. I was convinced that the average person would never look at these and realize that they aren't "real tile".
So, with that in mind I was ready to get my hands on them and get them into my kitchen ASAP.
I had seen a YouTube video by a YouTuber named Laci Jane and I'll try to add the link. Her tile looked so amazing and I thought the colors would look great in my kitchen so I followed her link and headed over to Amazon to place my order.

Laci Jane's tile video

I was so excited when my package arrived...you guys just don't even know, lol.
As you can see from the photo, the box was not very large. The tiles are thin and very very light. The sheets are 10 in. X 10 in.  and we needed 42 sheets for our kitchen. They come 6 sheets per package. I actually ordered an extra package and I'm glad I did because we used it!

Here's the link to the tile I purchased. If that link doesn't work, somebody please let me know!

Crystiles


I'm going to start by showing you a few pictures of our kitchen before we started just to give you an idea.





 Just giving you all the different angles so you will be able to truly appreciate the dramatic change that the tiles made.

We began by prepping the walls...basically removing the strips that are ever present in manufactured homes. Don't we all despise those strips? I understand the need for them but that doesn't mean I hate them any less.


Once the walls were prepped it was time to measure and make sure the lines were level.


 And NOW...the "AFTER"







As you can see from the photos it truly is quite a dramatic transformation...I  do think it enhanced our home and I don't think the average person will realize that it's not real tile.

However, it wasn't all sunshine and butterflies... and there ARE some issues that we had that are worth mentioning.

1. It wasn't quite as easy to apply as we'd hoped. The sheets are thin and you             have to place them precisely.
2. Your surface (wall) needs to be completely smooth or you WILL see the                imperfections once finished and can even cause bubbling.
3. If you don't get it lined up perfectly and need to reposition it then it WILL pull     up the paint from your wall and possibly even damage the wall. This stuff is         STICKY!
4. Be certain of the color before you purchase it and put it on your walls. It's
    cheaper than actual tile but that doesn't necessarily mean it's "cheap"...and you
    want to love what's on your wall.


All said and done, I'm happy with how it turned out and the change is quite dramatic.
I would definitely recommend the peel and stick tiles if you're looking for a cheaper and less labor intensive alternative to real tile. Just be sure your walls are ready and take it slow and steady. Read the instructions and get to work :)

One final picture for you :)
This is a side by side of our kitchen the first day it was set up (this is how it looked when we bought it) and after with the tile.